Ice Cream
by coolpearls
Summary: Ron stays up with his son while Hermione is away on a business trip. Future Ron fic. R&Hr and H&G, but not shipcentered.


**Ice Cream**  
Ron stays up with his son while Hermione is away on a business trip. Future Ron fic. R&Hr, but not ship-centered.

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"Dad?"

The quiet voice startled Ron out of his reverie. He looked up, blinking a few times. The five year old stood in the doorway, holding his teddy bear in his hand dangling at his side. He wore pajamas with golden snitches on them. "Hey, buddy," he said. He stood up. "What are you doing up so late?"

"I miss mummy," James said. He walked towards Ron, holding his arms up. Ron bent down, picking him up. He was getting too big.

"Me, too," Ron said.

He walked into the kitchen. The digital clock said it was nearly three in the morning. Ron hadn't slept at all. Harry had been over, then there was work, sitting, and thinking. He set James down on the kitchen island. "You want some ice cream?" he asked.

A boyish smile broke out unto James's face. Mummy would never let him have ice cream at night. Ron laughed, ruffling up James's red curls.

As Ron got two bowls out, James played with his bear. He looked up at his dad. "Why was Uncle Harry crying?" he asked.

Ron tensed. He paused, then turned to look at James. He looked at him with his big blue eyes, full of curiosity. "He wasn't crying," Ron said, shaking his head.

James furrowed his eyebrows, making a face at Ron. "Daaaad," he whined. "He was. I heard him. I wasn't asleep."

"You should be asleep right now, young man," Ron said, crossing his arms.

"No, no," James said quickly. "I want ice cream."

"Then don't ask questions like that," Ron said. He turned and dished out two bowl of vanilla ice cream in silence. He gave James one of them and sat down on a stool at the island.

James picked up his spoon clumsily and started eating. He got ice cream on his face, in his hair, and on his clothes. He pretended to give his bear a spoonful of ice cream every once in a while, and smiled brightly. Ron watched him, laughing to himself. He reached to the counter for a napkin and threw it at James. "You're filthy," he said, smiling.

James wiped his mouth, and put the napkin on his knee so the ice cream got unto his pajama pants. Ron laughed. He picked up the napkin and wiped James off while the five-year-old made faces at him. "Daaaad," he said again. "You're just like mummy."

"Shhh, you're going to wake up your sister," Ron said. "Are you done yet?"

There was a melted mess of ice cream left in the boy's bowl, but James insisted on slurping it out of the bowl. "She never sleeps this long," James said, looking towards Hailey's room. "I think she was awake when Uncle Harry was crying, too."

"He wasn't crying," Ron said, narrowing his eyes.

"Do you ever cry, dad?" James asked.

Ron paused, thinking about hugging Hermione at Dumbledore's funeral, finding Charlie's body a Christmas Eve so long ago, holding Remus after Wormtail was killed, fighting against Bellatrix Black, watching Draco Malfoy sacrifice himself for Snape. He thought about his wedding, Hermione telling him she was pregnant, holding James and Hailey after they were born. He thought about waking up in the middle of the night, about the years of memories and darkness, about trying to live a normal life after so much strife.

"I cried when you were born," he said.

"Why?" James asked, his eyes wide.

"Because I was so happy," Ron replied. "I cry sometimes. Everybody does."

"Why was Uncle Harry crying?" James asked.

He wasn't going to drop it. He was just as stubborn as his parents. Ron sighed, taking James's bowl. He rinsed it out in the sink, and then looked at James. "He was sad," he said.

"Why?" James asked.

"Because a lot of things happened when he was younger," Ron said. "A lot of things happened to mum and dad, too. Sometimes we remember them, and it makes us sad."

"You mean like Charlie?" James asked. He craned around and looked towards the fireplace mantle, where there was a picture of Hermione, Charlie, and Bill. He couldn't see the picture in the darkness, but he knew it was there.

"Yeah," Ron said. He picked James up. "Come on, it's time for bed."

"But I just had ice cream!" James said, reaching for his bear. He let out a yawn, closing his eyes tightly.

"You can stay up and read comics until you fall asleep," Ron said. He walked down the hall to James's bedroom. He tripped over a few toys, and set James down on his Chudley Cannon's bed set. He reached over to James's nightstand and handed him two comic books. "There you go."

"Are you going to bed?" James asked.

"Yeah," Ron said, nodding. "I'm going to check on your sister, then go to bed."

"When is mummy coming home?" James asked.

"The day after tomorrow," Ron said. He bent down and kissed James on the cheek. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, dad," James said, getting under his covers. Ron tripped over the toys again, and James laughed. Ron shut the door behind him and rested the back of his head on it, sighing.

Across from him there was a framed picture of Harry and Ginny on the wall. It had been taken at their wedding. Ginny had her arms around Harry's neck, and Harry was kissing Ginny's cheek. Ron remembered their wedding day, four years ago, when they had traveled to the beach in Italy for the small, intimate wedding.

It had been nearly eight years since the end of the war, but there were still many things haunting them. Death Eaters lurking around, dark wizards looking for a chance to rise, memories, scars, nightmares.

Hailey's room was much cleaner than her brother's. She was only a year old, so she didn't have half as much toys as James did. Hailey was sleeping peacefully in her small bed, wearing pink pajamas. Her red curls were everywhere; Ron could tell she would have to deal with bushiness like her mother. He touched her freckled face softly, kissing her on the cheek. She didn't stir, and Ron thought of a recurring nightmare he had in which he would wake up, and Hermione would be laying next to him, as usual, but she wouldn't wake up.

Tears came to his eyes just thinking of losing Hermione, or his children, or Harry, or Ginny. He kissed Hailey again and went back into James's room.

"Dad?" James asked, looking up from his comic book. "I thought you were going to bed."

"I am," Ron said. He shut the door. "In here."

James smiled. "Really?" he asked. He sat up and moved over to make room. "Are you sure you're going to fit?"

"Yeah," Ron said. He crawled into James's twin-sized bed. James laid on him as Ron read his comics aloud. Ron didn't know which of them fell asleep first.

The next morning, Hermione came home a day early than what she had planned. It was only seven in the morning, so she doubted anyone would be awake. Ron didn't have to work today. Of course, it switched all the time – if he was called in, he would have to go. They knew that when he entered Auror training.

She was glad to be home – she had only been gone for a week, but that was a week too long. There were a few toys here and there, and Ron's work was on the coffee table. There was a tub of melted ice cream out on the kitchen counter. Hermione shook her head, putting the tub away.

She yawned, walking down the hall to James's bedroom. It had been a long night. She pushed open the door. Ron was sprawled out on James's small bed, their son lying on Ron. She smiled. Ron was snoring lightly, and James rose up and down with his father's chest. She walked into the room, avoiding the toys on the floor. She sat on the edge of the bed, and Ron stirred awake.

Hermione touched his hand. "Who – Mione?" Ron asked groggily. "Oh, hell, what are you doing here? We haven't cleaned or anything."

James woke up. "Mommy!" he squealed, jumping on her. "I missed you!"

"I missed you, too," Hermione said, smiling.

"When did you get here?" Ron asked. He sat up, yawning. "What time is it?"

"Seven," Hermione said.

"Dad let me have ice cream at night!" James exclaimed.

Ron groaned. "James," he said. "You're not supposed to tell her that."

James grinned, hugging Hermione tighter. "I could have guessed," Hermione said. "You left it out."

Ron smiled, lying back down on James's bed. "I'm glad you're back," he said, touching her hand.

"Me, too," Hermione said. She leaned down and kissed Ron.

"Ewww," James said. He tumbled down off of Hermione and lay on Ron again. "Can we have ice cream tonight again?"

"No," Hermione said, narrowing her eyes.

"But Harley liked it," James said, pointing to his bear.

"No," Hermione repeated.

"Daaaad," James said.

"Listen to your mum," Ron grumbled.

James made a pouty face, sighing. He snuggled into Ron's back and fell asleep in a few moments. "How late were you up?" Hermione asked, playing with Ron's hair.

"Three or four," Ron said.

"Come on, let's go sleep upstairs," Hermione said, standing up. She pulled on Ron's hands.

Ron groaned, rolling out of bed and getting to his feet. "It's been a week since I've slept next to you," Hermione said. She smiled down at James. "He's too tired to notice."

Ron tripped over a toy, and Hermione laughed. He kissed her on the head. "I love you," he said.

"I love you, too," Hermione said.

The two of them passed the picture of Harry and Ginny in the hall, and Ron tightened his hold around her.


End file.
